HONOLULU - A fighter jet among a troubled fleet of F-15s that recently returned to the skies plunged into the ocean Friday, but the pilot ejected in time and was rescued shortly afterward.

A Coast Guard helicopter plucked the Hawaii National Guard pilot from the ocean. He was taken to a hospital and was listed in good condition.

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The pilot said he could not control the plane and started to lose altitude before the crash, according to Lee. That's when he made the decision to eject and parachuted to the water 60 miles south of Honolulu.

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The crash comes just a few weeks after the Hawaii Air National Guard, which uses the fighter jets to patrol island airspace, resumed flying the jet. The Guard returned 13 of its 20 planes to the air on Jan. 9. The remaining seven were still grounded and were undergoing inspections by engineers.

Although an investigation into Friday's F-15D crash is ongoing, the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Wing commander said he doesn't believe the crash was related to the structural problems that grounded all Air Force F-15 for two months.

The F-15D jet that crashed was just put back into service three weeks ago, after undergoing safety inspections.

"The airplane (in Friday's crash) was still in one piece," said Brig. Gen. Peter Pawling, commander of the 154th Wing, of Friday's crash 60 miles south of the Honolulu airport. "There was no inflight breakup."

All 676 Air Force F-15s were grounded in November after an F-15C broke in two during a training flight in Missouri. An investigation concluded that a defective aluminum beam in the frame cracked.

Hawaii's F-15s are about 30 years old and were acquired in 1987.

But Pawling said it's too early to link the plane's age to the crash, pending the ongoing investigation.

"It could very well be true, but it's something we're going to have to scrutinize," Pawling said.

The Guard has yet to decide whether to retrieve the jet from the ocean bottom, although Pawling said he would like it retrieved. The F-15D models cost about $29.9 million each.

U.S. Coast Guard was able to recover two trash bags and two trash cans full of debris, said Capt. Jeff Hickman, spokesman for the Air Guard.

A safety investigation team comprised of Air Force and Guard officials will assemble in Hawaii this week to investigate the crash.

The plane's pilot ejected safely at about 1:37 Friday afternoon. The pilot said he could not control the plane and started to lose altitude before the crash, Maj. Gen. Robert Lee said Friday. The plane experienced no problems during a routine exercise earlier that day.

All training missions involving the fighters have been halted, including a mock aerial combat test with the Navy's newest F-18 Super Hornets.

Pawling said he aims to resume training by Thursday, but wants to focus resources on gathering more information about the crash.

"It's kind of an emotional experience for us," Pawling said. "So this will give us a chance to regroup a little bit before we get back into the flying business."

Hawaii Air Guard F-15s remain on duty to fly, if needed, for air defense missions, Lee said.

The Air Force cleared 13 Hawaii-based F-15s to return to flight duty on Jan. 9. But seven fighters remain grounded pending certification from the Pentagon.

Friday's crash is the fifth F-15 crash since May of last year.

Some experts who follow military readiness say Friday's incident is another indication that the F-15 needs to be replaced.

The fighters were designed during the Vietnam War, said Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Va.-based public policy think tank.

"The F-15 fleet is starting to literally fall out of the sky," Thompson said. "Even before the planes started crashing, they were flying on flight restrictions because of metal fatigue."

It's too early to tell what Friday's crash may mean for the F-15s future since the cause has not been identified, said John Pike, director of Virginia-based online database GlobalSecurity.org.

"Having said that, these planes have been around for a long time," Pike said. "You can foresee a time when they're going to phase out the F-15."

The Air Force would like to replace the F-15 with the new F-22. Hawaii's planes are scheduled to be replaced in 2010.

But the F-22 program is under fire because of its cost -- about $159 million per plane.

Sincere condolences to all Norwegians! I guess you will need some aquevit to get over this.

COURTESY U.S. COAST GUARD
A Coast Guard rescue crew hoisted a Hawaii Air National Guard pilot to safety yesterday afternoon after he and his jet ended up in the ocean approximately 60 miles south of Oahu.

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Sincere condolences to all Norwegians! I guess you will need some aquevit to get over this.

The Air Force yesterday identified Lt. Col. Christopher Faurot as the pilot of the F-15 fighter that crashed in the ocean off O’ahu on Friday.

Neighbors last night said they had begun to wonder if the downed pilot might be Faurot after not seeing signs of him, his wife or children over the weekend.
Video: Pilot plucked from the Pacific

“I’m just glad he’s all right,” said Scilla Purington, who lives across the street from the Faurots’ home in Lanikai. “When we heard, we immediately thought it might be him.”

Purington described Faurot as a “great guy” with a “lovely family.”

The pilot ejected from the plane and was plucked from the ocean by helicopter and taken to The Queen’s Medical Center in good condition and in good spirits, military officials said after the crash.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has suspended its search for debris from the downed F-15 and is leaving the salvage of the wreckage to the Hawaii Air National Guard.

Coast Guard Lt. John Titchen said the Coast Guard discontinued its search after not finding any debris.

“We were more concerned about the debris field left behind that [would] pose a threat to navigation, or any pollution left in the water,” Titchen said. “Anything left by the plane would be a hazard to boats.”

The fighter crashed at 1:37 p.m. Friday, 60 miles south of Oahu, after the pilot lost altitude and control, officials have said.

Three rescue aircraft crews from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point and crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard cutter Ahi, an 87-foot patrol boat, immediately responded to the incident, according to a Coast Guard press release, which also said the service was notified at 1:45 p.m. concerning the distress.

Crewmembers from the cutter Ahi, the cutter Kukui, a 225-foot buoy tender, and Coast Guard aircraft crews will stay on scene to check for pollution and debris.

An interim safety board has been convened to assemble evidence from the crash. A safety board will review the evidence and look for safety problems related to the crash, said Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, a Pacific Air Force spokeswoman at Hickam. At any point, an accident investigation board can be convened, Clayton said. The safety board has 30 days to determine the cause of the accident. At that point, if it is decided that the aircraft had safety problems, then the information would not be made public, Clayton said.

“We take safety very seriously,” Clayton said. “We pride ourselves on being safe.”

In the hours after the crash, military officials described the pilot as experienced.

Neighbor Dave Purington said he sometimes discussed flying with Faurot.

“He’s been around the block when it comes to military airplanes,” he said.

“I know that just from the feelings I got from the people who would come around, they had lots of respect for him,” he said.

“I’m not surprised he got through OK,” he added. “He’s very proficient.”

Sincere condolences to all Norwegians! I guess you will need some aquevit to get over this.